1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to dishware such as bowls and plates for serving food and eating implements associated with the dishware, and more particularly to dishware and implements for use by children which function not only as eating utensils, but also as play pieces, so that the eating process becomes a play activity that stimulates a child to partake of food.
2. Status of Prior Art
As pointed out in the column on Health in The New York Times of Oct. 21, 1992, play activity is of vital importance in child development. Research has shown that children who play often become more creative than those whose exposure to play and toys is more limited. Through play, a child can develop better hand-eye coordination, improved problem-solving skills and a richer imagination.
Proper nutrition is essential to a child's health and growth. Food is brought to a table in dishware whose form depends on the food being served to the child. Thus, soup is generally served in a bowl and is consumed by means of a spoon, whereas cooked vegetables are placed in a shallow plate and consumed by means of a knife and fork. By dishware, as this term is used herein, is meant any round receptacle adapted to accommodate food to be eaten.
Yet many children, particularly those of preschool age, are indifferent eaters. As a consequence, parents seek ways to coax a child to eat the food placed before him in a serving bowl or plate. Thus, a parent may promise to reward a child with a piece of candy for each mouthful of food he consumes. This is not good practice, for candy has a high sugar and fat content, and while candy taken in small quantities is not harmful, a child who accumulates a large quantity of candy pieces as a reward for eating his dinner will gain little benefit by eating these pieces.
Nor is it normally good practice to intermingle play and eating activity; for as the child becomes involved in play, he tends to lose whatever interest or appetite he has in eating. For example, a child who is given a toy vehicle to play with on the table surface on which a food serving dish is set cannot be expected to spoon food from this dish and thereby interrupt his play.
A child whose interest in food is weak will be encouraged to eat if the eating process itself is made an enjoyable activity rather than a chore imposed on him by his parents or because he is threatened that unless he eats he will not grow big and strong.
We have found that an effective technique for stimulating a child's appetite and inducing him to eat is to convert eating into a play activity, so that the eating utensils also function as play pieces and to carry out play, the child must eat. In psychological terms, the play activity then affords positive reinforcement to the eating process. However, conventional dishware and eating implements are not adapted to function as play pieces.